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05 October 2014

Sunday Tidbits for October 5: New Feature! Princely Twins, Auctions Galore, and an Imperial Wedding

Lovely readers, I've decided to try out a new feature for the blog! It's a little something I'm calling Sunday Tidbits, a quick round of links to selected extras: more royal events, plus other articles and whatnots that might be of interest to you. Some news-ish, some not. Stroll through them on your lazy Sunday! Use them to cure a case of the Mondays! Do none of the above! (Hey, I don't know your life.)

Ready? Here we go:

--This has been rumored since they announced the pregnancy, but it appears that Prince Albert and Princess Charlene have confirmed to Hello! magazine that they are expecting twins. Charlene gave an interview to the publication during her recent visit to New York. Congrats to the couple! [@HelloCanada Twitter]

--Princess Noriko of Takamado, the daughter of Princess Takamado and the late Prince Takamado, who was the Emperor of Japan's cousin, is getting married. She participated in a few ceremonies leading up to the wedding, including one in traditional garb to say farewell to the ancestor gods of the family, and one in the more modern traditional court dress with jewels to bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress. Like all females born to the imperial family, she received a parure when she came of age, this one including pearls and diamonds in a scrolling wave pattern. She won't formally be a part of the imperial family after her marriage, so her tiara days are coming to a close. Here's a video, and here's a blog covering the event. [Imperial Family of Japan Blog]

And here is video from the wedding, held today:

The fabrics are just gorgeous and her hair, the architecture of her hair, really, is fascinating. They look happy - as happy as they are allowed to look given the tremendous amounts of protocol every public appearance is subjected to, that is.

--Returning to the Grimaldis for a moment, they have a collection of relics from Napoleon and his era, and they're selling off about a thousand pieces. Well sure, because now they have to buy two cribs, you see. (Okay, technically the article says the items, which have been on exhibit, are being sold to "to make room for a museum celebrating its own ruling dynasty".) Anyway, the French state might get involved, and it could be a whole thing. [The Independent]

--In other Swedish jewel news, Sotheby's is auctioning Queen Josephine's pearl necklace, a double strand of large natural pearls with pearl and diamond pendants. The necklace was probably given by Empress Joséphine to her daughter-in-law Augusta, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, and then to Augusta's daughter, Queen Josephine. It eventually passed out of the main royal line and was sold. It will now be sold again. Get that wallet out, King CG. [Sotheby's]

On the left, Josephine wears the necklace in question

And there you have it! Just a few extra tidbits for the week. Stay tuned Monday as we catch up on happenings in Spain and beyond.

By the way, this series of posts has another purpose too: as open posts for commenters. For those of you that like to hang out and chat, please use these posts as a place for your off topic musings throughout the week, in the interests of keeping daily posts just a bit more manageable. Enjoy!